Do professional courses prepare hospitality students for efficient surplus food management? A self-evaluation of professional competence in food waste prevention

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine Taiwanese hospitality students’ self-reported professional competence in surplus food management and assess the usefulness of their university training in this area. Using the importance-performance analysis (IPA) method, it is possible to obtain a clearer understanding of the priority order of the items that require improvement and to identify which surplus food management competence items should be strengthened in the school curriculum and which items should be enhanced by the students. Design/methodology/approach This study used the questionnaire survey method. It evaluated seven dimensions covering 29 items related to surplus food management competencies of the kitchen staff. The evaluation was done using IPA to determine the relationship between professional competence (performance level) and courses provided (importance level). The factor coordinates were completed according to the means of personal qualifications and courses provided. Findings According to students’ self-assessment, the dimensions of “Personal moral attitude,” “Food handling attitude,” “Education and training attitude” and “Culinary knowledge” were located in the “Keep up the good work” quadrant, meaning that the students think that their surplus food management competence is relatively high and the courses provided are sufficient. Thus, these items have better performance at the present and they hope to maintain the status. However, “Menu analysis” and “Sanitation knowledge” were found to have low importance and low level of performance. Therefore, these two dimensions require attention in the course design and educational training. Research limitations/implications The questionnaire responses were self-reported; this study assumed that all participants answered honestly. Future studies may include additional factors in the analysis, such as hospitality management, culinary skills, internship experience and work time that may affect the perceptions of students. Moreover, professional chefs could be surveyed to determine their professional competence and training needs. Originality/value The professional training that students receive determines, to a large extent, their performance in their jobs and the resulting stability of their employment. Therefore, improved competence gained through good-quality training can help students meet the demands of the hospitality industry.

Exploration and Practice of Moral Education Courses in Universities in Big Data Era

“…Analyzing the characteristics and application scope of big data technology is the premise and guarantee for the application of intelligent means in moral education courses in universities. Combined with big data technology, moral education courses in colleges can form transparent and efficient curriculum design scheme and evaluation annotation [13,14]. Because the CNN method designed in this paper is only applied to moral education courses in colleges and universities, and the characteristics of moral education courses in primary and secondary schools are quite different from those in colleges and universities.…”

The Impact of the Nutritional Knowledge of Polish Students Living Outside the Family Home on Consumer Behavior and Food Waste

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“…Hence, it is important to conduct further research and analysis. Ko and Lu [ 64 ], on the other hand, said that education in the human-nutrition and food-service professions helps manage leftover food. Students with an increased interest in food and food waste are more likely to avoid throwing food away [ 65 ].…”